On autumn weekends, we are serving homemade hot and cold food and drinks from our barn by Hawk Mountain Road, from now till the end of October. You will see our blue Autumn Weekends signs along the road. There are picnic tables and straw bales to sit on, and pumpkins and apples for sale too. It’s a nice place to visit with friends. We’re open Saturdays and Sundays from about 10:30 – 6:00.

On Sundays you’re welcome to come to church at 10:00 a.m. for some spiritual food before your natural food. Our service is usually less than an hour.

Speaking of spiritual food, here are a few thoughts about the events of September 11th. As Christians we are blessed to know that all those who died on that day are alive and well and with loved ones in the spiritual world. Our Heavenly Father is helping them begin their eternal lives. If they are willing, He will be showing them into the heavenly mansions that He has been preparing for them, just as He is for us. They will join communities of fellow angels and carry on with a useful, fulfilling life in company with friends.

The hard part is for those left behind, especially the children who lost their parents. Why did God let this happen? Why does He allow the crimes and cruelty and wars that go on every day?

The Lord’s goal is a loving relationship with each of us. Love must be given and received freely. So the Lord must allow us to reject His love as well as to receive and return it. When we reject His love, we bring misery on others and ourselves.

The book, Divine Providence, by Emanuel Swedenborg, tells about violence and war. It says, “Unless evils were allowed to break out, man would not see them and therefore would not acknowledge them. No one can be withdrawn from his hell unless he sees that he is in hell and wishes to be led out; and this cannot be done without permissions.”

If the Lord repressed all evils, they would stay shut in like a hidden disease. But when they come out into the open, we can see evil for what it truly is and deal with it. The Lord has all power in heaven and on earth, so all of us can repent and be led out of evil.

The Lord must let evils happen from time to time, so that we can be free, and so that we can take responsibility for our lives, with His help. He does not permit one bit of evil except to the extent that good may come out of it. Even the sparrows are not forgotten before God. (Luke 12:6) We can see a little of the good already in the way people have contributed to help those most affected by the attack. Each of us can search out some of the ways we can bring less hurt and more healing to the people we live and work with each day. Then more of us will be glad to come live in the heavenly mansions the Lord is preparing for us, when it’s the right time.